Southwell and Nottingham Diocesan Synod Saturday 23 rd April 2016, Minster School Presidential Address on Growing Disciples After 9 months in the Diocese I approach today full of hope and thankfulness to God. Thankful to God for all the 145 clergy who have welcomed me to their home and shared the story of their journey of faith. On numerous occasions I was deeply inspired and moved by the way God has been at work in the lives of those who are servants and ministers of the gospel among us. Thankful for 50+ Parishes I have already visited on Sundays or mid-week, meeting people who are serving with such incredible devotion and resilience. The combined years of service to the mission of the church is frequently staggering. After the Good Friday service in Balderton I sat down to talk to 3 older members of the church who I discovered had a combined age of 271 years. The eldest, age 97, told me I can t do so much now to help out, but I can still pray. I assured her that there is no greater contribution any of us can make than to pray. Deeply thankful for our schools including the 8 secondary schools I spent a day in during Lent where I met some remarkably engaging students, and dedicated and visionary teachers and head-teachers. 1
Thankful for the whole Minster team who have served with such diligence and energy through the long vacancy. I want to pay particular tribute to the acting Dean, Canon Nigel Coates, for the exceptional way he has modelled calm and effective servant leadership, supported wonderfully throughout by Rhodda. In spite of the extra workload and pressure for the whole team it has been a very fruitful season in the Minster. We are thrilled that we can now look forward to welcoming Nicola Sullivan who will be installed as the new Dean on 17 September. But my sense of hope and gratitude to God is best summed up for me in two encounters this past week: First of all Confirming 40 people in two services last Sunday in Mansfield and yesterday in Worksop College. It struck me again that these people come from every background and span every age group. They are a testimony to the fact that there is no one living in our diocese for whom the Good News of Jesus Christ is not vitally relevant and life-changing. Then on Thursday I met in Nottingham with 30 or so people who are part of the Faith Action Network. These are Christians from different churches and denominations who lead projects, teams and small charities that are making a huge difference on the ground. They are working with such compassion and creativity, as well as often a dogged determination to help transform the lives of the poorest and 2
most vulnerable people living across the city and others parts of the county. How do we sustain and develop this transformative action and multiply the stories of people finding faith in Christ? As I set out back in November, I sincerely believe that it is the right time to focus our energies even more intentionally on Growing Disciples wider, younger and deeper. I m thankful that we ve made some encouraging progress since the Synod in November. Here is a reminder of the steps and stages of this process and consultation to date and also looking ahead. First stage conversations with Bishop s Senior Staff Bishop s Council Residential on strategy for Growing Disciples (January) Mid-way Review of the 2020 Deployment Plan with Deanery Leadership Teams (Jan-March) Appointment of Bishop s Advisor for Strategic Development (March) Review of Diocesan Ministry Training needs (April-July) Diocesan Synod on a Vision for Growth (23 April today!) Application for Strategic Development Funding 30 April Diocesan Week of Prayer for Growing Disciples with Deanery Prayer Gathering (20-26 June) Further conversations with Deaneries and Parishes to develop and hone diocesan strategic planning Diocesan Synod to review planning - 15 October Invitation for all parishes to review their own local plan for Growing Disciples (Autumn) 3
Advent Sunday focus on Growing Disciples In a few minutes Richard Kellet (Bishop s Advisor in Strategic Development) and Sarah Clark (Archdeacon of Nottingham) are going to update you on some of the emerging strands of work that Bishop s Staff and Bishop s Council have been considering and preparing for. But before we come to that I want us to take a few minutes to reflect on one verse from Luke s Gospel. And to say something about our Calling, Context and the Kairos timing of the season we are in as God s church. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest fields. Go! Luke 10v2 Now it s interesting that those of us who are very familiar with this passage are perhaps predisposed to assume that Jesus is presenting a big problem here in Luke 10. And the problem is a lack of workers. But of course that challenge exists only because the harvest is so plentiful. And in most Middle Eastern societies at the time the great fear of the farmer was not a lack of labour but too many hungry workers and not enough harvest. So Jesus s first words should elicit a huge cheer from the workers and their families the harvest is plentiful. The fact 4
that there are very few workers does matter but not as a complaint it s a call to urgent action. One bible commentator Leon Morris puts it like this: That the harvest is plentiful means that there is much work to do; that the labourers are few means that they must not delay. Jesus is not lamenting a lack of resources, after all he has a good track record for taking a little and multiplying it. And when you step back and consider the whole narrative of the bible when was a lack of resources ever an obstacle to achieving the purposes of God? The greatest challenge is usually overcoming our fears it s why God told Joshua, Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified. And why? For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go! In God s economy being few, small and weak is generally a pretty good starting point it s invariably the raw material by which God establishes his purposes and grows his kingdom. And however stretched or overwhelmed we may sometimes feel in the face of every challenge growing new disciples the Lord of the harvest is with us and for us it s his harvest in Mansfield and Mapperley and Muskham and Mattersey and that s just the M s..! And with this harvest there is a great deal at stake. This harvest is nothing less than the all-inclusive invitation to 5
every woman, man and child to turn to God, receive the forgiveness of sins and become a follower of Jesus Christ. The great challenge we face in the Church is not in understanding this purpose the great challenge we face is realising that urgent action is required, because the harvest is plentiful...no more talking, no more reminiscing about previous harvests, no more arguing over which is your field and which is mine, no room for envy, suspicion or fear it s time for action. There s one goal that every worker shares age 7 and 97 bring the harvest home! What kind of action is required? Not feverish and uncoordinated rushing around, but prayerful and purposeful planning that is swiftly turned into action. Jesus told his disciples that in light of the abundant harvest there are two things to do: Pray to the Lord of the harvest, especially for more workers, and then go! And as that get going they learn along the way, and they grow in faith as they make the amazing discovery that God supplies more than enough power and grace to change lives and so to grow the kingdom before their very eyes. This is our Calling Wherever I look in the diocese we do not lack for opportunities to love and serve people in Jesus name. We also live among 1.2m people most of whom have 6
not yet encountered the true reality of God s transforming love through the message of the gospel, yet are remarkably open to considering the deeper issues of life and faith. The harvest is plentiful and we are called and sent by the Lord of the harvest, compelled by the love of Christ because we are convinced that Christ died for all. This is our Context the workers are few - it is a challenge that should concern us deeply, numbers have been slowly and steadily declining, especially among the 15-45 age group, but I am full of hope because the Lord of the harvest is with us and you and I have seen what he s already doing. This is our Time this is a Kairos moment for the Church in this diocese and around the nation and that s why I believe it s time for more passionate prayer (the archbishop s have called us to join with a prayer initiative called #thykingdomcome to pray for our witness to Christ). As a diocese I am inviting us to pray that together we will welcome 7000 new disciples into the fellowship of Christ and his church over the next 7 years. Since we serve a God of abundance we may find that number is far too small. Then alongside our praying to be purposeful and bold in reviewing and developing a plan for growing new disciples in every parish in the diocese as well as reaching people in the 7
new places and networks where they most naturally connect, including through social media. But let s remember that it will not be altogether easy quite the reverse. Harvesting is back-breaking work. I m not anxious about that because I have met so many resilient hard workers in the churches of our diocese. But Jesus went further, warning the disciples: I send you out like sheep among wolves. Being drawn into the never ending adventure of following Christ is more like being on a rollercoaster than a cruise-liner. It s why Dorothy Sayers described the Christian life as the whirling adventure of Christ. Three quite personal questions it would be good to reflect upon as we move forward together as a Diocese and Synod in Growing Disciples: What ingredients were significant in your own journey into discipleship? Who first pointed you to the life and teaching of Jesus? Who did you later discover had been praying for you in your journey faith? Richard Kellet and Sarah Clark will now describe the emerging priorities we ve been considering as a Bishop s 8
Staff and Council for Growing Disciples wider, younger and deeper: Compelled by the love of Christ by 2023 we will seek to Welcome 7000 new disciples into the fellowship of Christ and his church Commission 1000 Younger Leaders equipped and inspired to serve the purposes of God in the Church and Society Plant or graft 75 New Worshipping Communities to increase our reach in sharing the story of Jesus with all and growing new disciples Develop 25 Resource Churches in every part of the county, growing to give themselves away Serve as 1 Church prayerfully contending for the gospel in every community and sphere of public life in our city, county and region 9